Scope
1 July 2026
When Katie started her first full-time job after completing her law degree, she hoped it would be the beginning of her legal career. Instead, she found herself struggling in a workplace that didn't meet her access needs.
Living with multiple long-term health conditions, an inflexible structure and lack of reasonable adjustments wasn’t sustainable, prompting Katie to step away and rethink what work could look like.
With Scope's support, Katie learned how to advocate for herself, secure the adjustments she needed and build a career around her strengths - not the barriers put in her way.
Katie is a 26-year-old postgraduate student who studied law and is now pursuing a master's degree in Medical Law and Ethics. She's a passionate reader and a big Taylor Swift fan who loves music and going to concerts.
Katie lives with multiple long-term health conditions that affect her mobility, energy levels and day-to-day routines. These include an auto-inflammatory immune condition, CFS/ME, bursitis, sciatica, Raynaud's syndrome and several conditions that are being investigated.
Her symptoms can cause pain, fatigue, migraines, concentration difficulties and sudden flare-ups, which can make it harder to plan ahead, work consistently or study without regular breaks.
Katie also faces barriers created by inaccessible environments, such as buildings without working lifts or spaces where she can’t take the breaks she needs. These barriers can make it harder for her to work, study and take part in everyday life.
Katie sometimes uses a walking stick to manage pain and mobility and needs to keep warm because cold temperatures can worsen her symptoms. The unpredictable nature of her conditions means she can become unwell at short notice.
Katie completed her undergraduate law degree in August 2021 and began her first job the following month, working full-time in a legal call centre.
She quickly realised the role was unsuitable due to the lack of reasonable adjustments and the physical demands of the work.
"The biggest mistake I made was that I forgot I can't do the same level of work that someone without health conditions could do."
The job's structure, including limited breaks and inflexible call schedules, proved unworkable.
Katie said:
"It became an unworkable job for me."
Working full-time caused Katie's conditions to flare up. She was off sick for the final week of her job at the call centre, and it took six to eight weeks to recover.
"I would push myself to go into the office... just to save on those costs. Then it leads to a flare of symptoms."
Katie first discovered Scope's Support to Work service when she Googled "job support for disabled people" and reached out in 2021 after leaving her first role in the legal call centre.
"Scope was the right place at the right time. I think I was getting very desperate."
She filled out an online form and was contacted by Scope within a couple of days, which she said was "amazing", especially compared to other services where long waits are common.
Working with her Adviser, Mwila, was a turning point. Mwila helped Katie apply for a job, prepare for interviews and navigate how to disclose her condition.
When talking about disclosing her disability, Katie said:
"It was really helpful going into the job. I've actually been able to take what I learned about disclosing my disability through to university and subsequent jobs."
Before this support, Katie would not have thought of disclosing her condition upfront.
Katie and Mwila prepared a cover letter and CV together, and Katie was offered an interview within weeks. They looked through jobs together and discussed how to showcase Katie in the best way, which helped her feel prepared for the interview.
"We went through and looked at the job specification. We talked about how to showcase myself to the best of my ability. That was really amazing, because I felt like I was so prepared for this interview."
In 2022, Katie found employment at a large law firm and continued to receive in-work support from Scope Adviser, Dawn.
Dawn assisted with navigating workplace restructuring and reviewing employment contracts.
"One of the things I talked about with my Adviser, Dawn, was flexible hours - making sure I worked my contractual hours and I felt confident about how to raise this with my employer."
Dawn also helped Katie communicate with her employer about reasonable adjustments, including ergonomic equipment, flexible hours and tasks that could worsen her symptoms.
"[My Adviser], Dawn, got me to the stage where I knew how to advocate for myself. Lots of advice I received from Scope was around flagging reasonable adjustments or flagging things that maybe weren't working."
Katie also called Support to Work for advice between her meetings with Dawn.
"Every time I called Scope, someone would always answer. If they couldn't help, they would always refer on to Dawn."
In 2023, as she prepared to begin a postgraduate degree in Medical Law and Ethics, Katie got back in touch with Scope to find a flexible role alongside her studies.
Through the Scope jobs board, she found a summer research role focused on accessible equipment design. The six-week position aligned with her academic interests and gave her the opportunity to contribute to research that could help improve accessibility.
Katie said the support she had previously received from Scope had given her the confidence to advocate for herself and communicate her needs clearly.
"It’s a testament to how amazing Scope were, getting me to the stage where I knew how to advocate for myself."
She also spoke positively about the Scope jobs board and the confidence it gave her when applying for roles.
"It's that foot through the door that the Scope Jobs Board gives you, knowing that that company are actively looking to and wanting to support disabled people."
Today, Katie combines her master's degree in Medical Law and Ethics with two flexible roles. She works remotely supporting the legal and finance departments of a startup agency and is also a Research Assistant at a University.
Looking back, Katie said Support to Work helped her build confidence, understand her rights and advocate for herself.
"It wasn't just the confidence of helping me get a job, but it was also the confidence of knowing there was somebody who understood."
"The support has made me feel really heard."
Katie credited Scope with helping her feel heard and supported in a system where she often felt like "just a number".
Without the service, she believes she would have been unemployed for much longer and less able to assert her needs.
"I would not be able to advocate for myself, from a needs perspective, but also from a confidence perspective."
Scope
1 July 2026
